Walk Like MADD 5K at JetBlue Park highlights impacts of drunken driving, power of community

Runners and walkers participated in the largest 5K fundraiser in MADD Southwest Florida's history on Saturday at JetBlue Park.
Amanda Inscore/news-press.com

At this morning's Walk Like MADD 5K at JetBlue Park, victims of drunk driving banded together to help put an end to this preventable crime.

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Lauren Harkins hugs Linda Beni at the start of the Walk Like MADD 5K on Saturday at JetBlue Park. Harkins, who is the chair of the event, lost her brother in 2015 hit-and-run, and Beni’s daughter Brittany was killed in what is believed to be a drunken driving crash also.(Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press)Buy Photo

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is the nation's largest nonprofit working to end drunken and impaired driving. The organization works to educate the public on the impacts of drunken driving and underage drinking. It also offers free-of-charge support to drunken-driving victims such as Harkins and her family.

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Linda Beni crosses the finish line of the Walk Like MADD 5K at JetBlue Park in south Fort Myers on Saturday. Beni lost her daughter Brittany in what is believed to be a drunk driving crash.
Amanda Inscore/The News-Press

Lauren Harkins hugs Linda Beni at the start of the Walk Like MADD 5K on Saturday at JetBlue Park. Harkins, who is the chair of the event, lost her brother in 2015 hit-and-run, and Beni’s daughter Brittany was killed in what is believed to be a drunken driving crash also.
Amanda Inscore/The News-Press

MADD Southwest Florida has been with Linda Beni since her 21-year-old daughter, Brittany, died in what's believed to be an alcohol-related accident in December 2016 in Port Charlotte.

Linda Beni said the driver of the vehicle her daughter was in dragged a second passenger, 21-year-old Wesley Chery, from the backseat into the front driver's seat before fleeing the scene. Chery was also killed.

"I was going to the gym that morning and I actually passed the accident scene," Linda Beni recalled. "I just remember thinking: I hope everyone's OK. No one had contacted me yet. I had no idea."

On Sept. 21, Florida Highway Patrol arrested 25-year-old Michael Brutus on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, leaving the scene with property damage, and giving false information to law enforcement during an investigation.

Linda Beni said the arrest has brought some closure.

But it's MADD's continued support that's helped her most.

"They reached out to me from the beginning," Linda Beni said. "They offered to go with me to court, to hearings. They're like angels."

According to Capt. Jay Rodriguez of the Fort Myers Police Department, 11 people have been killed in car accidents this year in the city of Fort Myers. Nine of those accidents are believed to be connected to drunken or impaired driving. By comparison, six people have died due to gun violence in the city over the same time period.

Trish Routte, a supervisor with the Lee County Sheriff's Office, pointed out that drunken driving is a completely preventable crime — especially in an age of Uber and taxi apps.

Routte works closely with MADD to provide public education.

She says: When you're going out and possibly having drinks, have a transportation plan from the get-go.

"You need a plan before the night or event even starts," Routte said. "When you're still clear-headed and thinking straight you need to say, 'OK, we're going here and here. If we split an Uber it'll be $10 each.'"

Routte credits people such as Harkins and Beni for spreading MADD's message, even as they grieve.

Harkins, a 23-year-old student at Florida SouthWestern State College, wants everyone young and old to have conversations about drunken driving. For her it's not about grim statistics and bloody crime-scene photos, it's about talking and understanding and realizing how preventable it is. "Nobody starts their day saying: I'm going to get wasted and kill somebody," Harkins said. "And yet it's still happening far too often."

Harkins ignored all the rules laid out for 5K planning in the 3-inch binder she received from MADD when she volunteered to organize today's race.

Instead she listened to her instincts and took to social media to rally the community.

"There are no words to articulate the amazing job she's done," Routte said of Harkins, who helped to more than double the event's participation numbers from last year.

"We want to reach a time where MADD doesn't exist, where it's not necessary. But until then, we'll be here for everyone who needs us."

Ashley Sloan, left, and Tiffany Ojeda cross the finish line together at the Walk Like MADD 5K at JetBlue Park on Saturday, September 30, 2017, in south Fort Myers.(Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press)

DUI: The numbers

A look at DUI arrests in Southwest Florida from 2015, the most recent year of available data.

MADD Southwest Florida

Founded: February 2013, some 33 years after MADD started

Mission: "MADD SWFL provides free, life-saving supportive services to the community in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. In our local Southwest Florida community, we join our colleagues around the country in our mission to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, serve victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking."